CRM systems

A CRM system is a program that stores all data about existing and potential customers (names, contacts, conversation history) and manages this information. Almost all modern CRMs are capable of automating many everyday tasks, collecting and analyzing statistics, segmenting the customer base, planning actions, etc.

What is CRM systems in simple terms

CRM-system stands for Customer Relationship Management, which translated from English means “customer relationship management”. But automated software is not only accounting for customer relationships, its functionality is much wider. Figuratively speaking, CRM is the circulatory system of the organization. First of all, it is directly a catalog of contractors – customers, suppliers and partners.

What you need to know about CRM-systems in the first place

A universal CRM system is rare. As a rule, some programs perform some tasks better than others. Depending on its capabilities, any CRM system falls into one of the following categories:

In this way, operating CRM system will be an excellent solution for those who are engaged in sales and marketing and want to automate the workflow using software to perform everyday routine tasks. 

In turn, analytical CRM optimizes workflows that are not directly related to consumers. Its main goal is to analyze, improve the development and empowerment of employees within the company. 

Collective CRM system aims to meet the needs of customers through the interaction between all departments in the company (technical support, sales department, marketing department). Such CRM allows you to share information, control and improve the customer journey.

How does a CRM system work?

CRM helps to competently structure business processes – this is its main function. Externally, such a system resembles a standard Excel spreadsheet that stores the customer base. The program automatically displays data as employees organize their interaction with customers. CRM allows any employee to lead a client, even if another manager has previously communicated with him.

The functions of the program are adjusted in accordance with the guidance of the sales department – the main option of the system is the standardization and optimization of the administrator’s work to communicate with customers.

The CRM system closes all the small tasks that the administrator performs. Her to-do list looks like this:

• Create documents using templates
• Application acceptance
• Sending a message to the client
• Generation of tasks for administrators
• Create online reports
• Calculating the cost of services
• Transaction date tracking

What are the benefits of CRM systems

The introduction of CRM significantly increases the number of customers, increases conversion and leads to an increase in repeat sales. The benefits of software are many. 

• Firstly, user-friendly interface to work with clients. The CRM system saves the customer base, collects the history of interaction with them, analyzes the level of customer loyalty to the company and automates the processes of transactions with customers. Thanks to this functionality, the program will help not to lose a client who has shown interest in the company.
• The second advantage is generation of analytical reports in online mode. With the help of CRM, you can control the workflow and the work of company employees. The system also allows you to plan the schedule of work and vacation of staff, analyze the stages of the sales funnel and get rid of inefficient advertising channels – a special module is responsible for this, which allows you to track the client’s path from the stage of entering the site to completing the purchase.
• Another important advantage of the software is workflow automation. Thanks to this function, the load on managers is significantly reduced and errors due to inattention of employees are eliminated. The system records all actions in the database and notifies company managers about urgent tasks (make an important call or send a letter). CRM system tools also simplify document management through internal templates and scripts.

What business needs CRM systems

A CRM system will become an indispensable assistant for both small businesses and large holdings. There are key features for every activity that requires software. First of all, the head of the company should be interested in long-term relationships with customers, with an increase in repeat and additional sales, and it is important for him to keep a history of interactions with customers, recording letters and calls. 

Also, the software will be necessary in any company in which there is a need for automatic transmission of e-mail and SMS messages. For example, this way of interacting with customers is suitable for any online store or for a gas station network that has its own regular visitors. Thanks to automation, the system will be able to congratulate customers on their birthdays and other holidays, inform them about ongoing promotions and send out special offers.

CRM also uses the customer base to create customized offers, such as providing a personal discount based on previous purchases or discussing a new service that a customer once requested. For example, the software will benefit both small fitness studios and large sports complexes. 

In general, such a program allows any manager to set and adjust tasks, control the implementation in accordance with the deadline and monitor the performance of each employee – and all this remotely. 

Is it possible to do without a CRM system?

Sometimes the implementation of a CRM system may not bring tangible benefits and interfere with the stable operation of already established business processes. Sometimes the costs of using and maintaining such software are not justified and ineffective. 

For example, the software will not be needed by such an enterprise in which only multiple buyers and suppliers. Also without CRM can do monopolists – without competition, there is no need to build a customer base, because it is already stable. There are areas of business in which sales are focused on passing and random client threadsuch as roadside cafes.

But many modern companies, even if they are not interested in growing their customer base, many want to improve efficiency and customer loyalty, improve interaction between departments, track important indicators online – in this case, the CRM system will be a good integrated solution.

What data do CRM systems collect?

First of all, CRM systems collect personal data – The software includes customer contact details, demographic and geographic data, and information related to the company’s goals through questionnaires or consumer surveys. It is worth noting that a CRM system is a convenient and secure way to store personal data – if all precautions are taken , the possibility of data leakage is practically excluded. 

In addition, the software collects data on all transactions. From transaction information, you can find out income and expenses, as well as how quickly employees are billed and how quickly the client pays them.

Also CRM collects communication data. It measures customer response time to emails, calls, and other messages, and then counts the number of incoming and outgoing messages. This will help to track, and in the future analyze which way of interaction customers choose more often. Thus, you can find an individual approach to everyone. For example, introverts will choose email, chat and be happy, while busy people will prefer phone conversations. This allows the company to make communication comfortable, business-like and not turn it into annoying spam.

Examples of the main CRM systems in Our Country in 2022

Today there are a large number of CRM systems, both with cloud and local storage. The main CRM systems in Our Country in 2022 are the following programs:

Step-by-step instructions for implementing a CRM system

CRM-system helps to solve many problems of the company: it automates reports and controls the work of staff. Before introducing modern software into your business, you need to fully prepare for this stage step by step:

1. Decide on the goals and objectives of the company

The very first and most important step is to understand what goals and objectives the company pursues – this will help you choose useful software. For example, the goals of the company may be to activate the customer base, increase the conversion of applications for the sale of the product, automate workflow and reporting, improve the sales funnel, increase repeat sales, as well as a convenient interface for analyzing the company’s projects.

2. Calculate the budget for the purchase of licensed software and consider offers from CRM vendors 

Next, you need to determine the minimum and maximum costs and consider the offer from CRM vendors, based on the needs of the company. For example, to select options that match your budget, you need to know the input data: the cost of monthly software maintenance, or the price of a full license purchase. It is also necessary to take into account the cost of the IT infrastructure (servers, additional software, cloud technologies).

3. Audit the business model

During the audit process, it is necessary to collect all the information about business processes and divide them into categories that need to be automated in the first place.

As soon as the audit is carried out and the business processes are described, the integration specialist from the developer company will transfer them to the CRM system.

4. Determining the number of users

After the analysis has been carried out and the software provider has been selected, it is necessary to determine the number of users of the system – this is necessary to count the purchased licenses and configure access. The list may include full-time employees, remote employees, freelancers, managers, and technicians.

5. Installation of a CRM system and its integration into business processes

After successfully completing all the stages of implementing a CRM system and installing it, it remains to train key employees to work with the software and use the provided functionality to the maximum. It is worth noting that many developers have a support service that helps with complex issues.

The main mistakes when implementing a CRM system

1. The first and main mistake is the lack of organization in business processes. If the company does not distribute responsibilities and does not define the functionality of each employee, then the introduction of a CRM system in itself will not save the company from chaos. Before switching to CRM, it is necessary to establish all business processes in the organization.
2. The second main mistake is an incorrectly built sales funnel (the path of the client from the offer of the company to the purchase) for transactions. For example, there are too many stages of a transaction that the client is not ready to go through or they are repeated with different wording. You need to analyze your sales funnel to determine if there is redundancy in it. As a rule, companies that are just starting to use CRM suffer from this.
3. The next mistake is the lack of understanding of the importance of the CRM system by employees in the company. It is necessary to hold several meetings and tell the staff what you personally want to get from the implementation of the system, what they will get and what results the whole company will get.
4. And the last thing that can interfere with work is additional unnecessary fields in the CRM interface. For example, a large number of created fields, which at first seem necessary, can interfere with the work with the software. The employee responsible for the implementation of CRM must constantly take into account the needs of the company’s employees and the difficulties that arise in order to configure the system on their own, or send configuration requests to the developer or integrator.

Popular questions and answers

The editors of the KP asked to answer the most frequent questions of readers about CRM systems Tatyana Gazizullina, Executive Director of CRM systems integrator MOSC.